In March 1936 Acting NPS Director Arthur E. Demaray revealed several heretofore unspecified reasons for the continuing interest of Park Service officials in Diamond Lake. Among other things he observed:
Diamond Lake has always been considered essential to the Crater Lake unit. Its inclusion within the park was advocated and sponsored by organizations throughout Oregon as early as 1915, but the Forest Service defeated the project and the Lake was promptly developed as a summer home and recreational area. Since that time we have been forced to concentrate more developments at Crater Lake than we consider appropriate or desirable.
Because of the high altitude of Crater Lake it has been necessary to establish both a summer and a winter headquarters for the park. We did not advocate the inclusion of Diamond Lake as a competing and detracting exhibit; we advocated it for the protection of Crater Lake, so that Crater Lake would not be marred by overdevelopment. It might be said that Diamond Lake could perform that function in the national forest just as well as it could if it were in the park. Theoretically, that sounds fine, but the simple facts are that Diamond Lake has never been developed to take care of the Crater Lake visitors and it does not perform that function. It has been given over to a different type of land use.
Demaray concluded, however, that the question of the extension, while a worthy conservation cause, had become so misrepresented by various interest groups that it had “almost assumed the reputation of the Bad Man from Bodie.” [79]
Later that year the Diamond Lake extension issue surfaced again when Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York and NPS Director Arno B. Cammerer visited the Diamond Lake area. The purpose of the visit was to continue discussions of the possibility of adding approximately 55,000 acres to Crater Lake National Park, including the lake for “its recreational and fishing advantages.” When the Department of the Interior publicized its intentions, however, opposition by the local press and various citizens’ and government organizations in Southern Oregon mounted, thus forcing the department to drop its plans. [80]
The final thrust of the Park Service to gain the Diamond Lake and Union Creek extensions occurred during the summer of 1939. A “Preliminary Report on Extensions to Crater Lake National Park,” was prepared on September 2 to provide the background material for the proposals. The report analyzed the accessibility and the general characteristics of the areas, including scenic, scientific, historical, interpretive, and recreational values. In submitting the report to NPS Director Cammerer, Superintendent Leavitt concluded:
Recreational values are of the most importance in considering extensions to the park. The physical features of the park make possible limited recreational use. Extended development of recreational facilities in the park could seriously endanger unsurpassed scenic values. If the policy of the Service is to expand recreational activities under clearly defined land use standards, Diamond Lake particularly should be given consideration as an addition to the park. Both the Diamond Lake and Union Creek sections contain recreational opportunities lacking in the park. The Diamond Lake area could provide a greater variety of recreation involving much less timber value, and greater scientific and educational values in relation to Crater Lake than the Union Creek area. [81]
This last serious effort to acquire Diamond Lake and Union Creek foundered on public and Forest Service opposition This combined opposition, coupled with the coming of World War II, forced the issue into abeyance and was never considered seriously again. [82]
